BALTIMORE—The Orioles have scored two runs and had seven hits in their past two games. That’s not going to produce many wins.
On Sunday, they didn’t have a single baserunner through eight innings. They managed three hits in the ninth and lost, 4-1.
After an off-day, the bats were quiet again Tuesday night against the Washington Nationals. They had just four hits, two from Hanser Alberto, in an 8-1 loss that got uglier as they game went on. It was 2-1 after five innings.
Austin Voth won his first major league game, allowing the four hits in six innings. Tanner Rainey and Javy Guerra didn’t give up a hit in the last three innings.
Trey Mancini broke an 0-for-24 slump with a dribbler over first base that went for a double in the third.
“It felt pretty good,” Mancini said. “I definitely didn’t feel like myself still up there tonight, but found a hole there on a nice little dribbler. Yeah, it’s definitely a weight off the shoulders, so hopefully I’ll start getting back to where I was a couple weeks ago.”
On July 3, when he had his last hit, Mancini was hitting .300; he’s down to .282.
Mancini isn’t the only Oriole who’s struggling. Dwight Smith Jr. was hitless in four at-bats and is in an 0-for-30 skid. His average has fallen to .230.
Chris Davis is hitless in 13 at-bats, and Richie Martin, who didn’t play, is 0-for-21.
“It’s tough,” Mancini said. “Especially tough that a lot of us are kind of going through it at the same time because obviously the offense won’t have the input that we want.
“A lot of times when it’s one or two guys maybe struggling the rest of the guys pick them up, but there’s quite a few of us who are going through little funks right now and that’s unfortunately what happens in baseball and hopefully we can all break out of it pretty soon here.”
As Davis did when he broke his 0-for-33 skid to start the season, Mancini asked for the slump-breaking ball.
“I have it in my locker,” Mancini said. “So definitely going to keep that. I honestly don’t even know where my first hit is from 2016, but I’m going to make sure I keep track of this one.”
Manager Brandon Hyde, who said the team didn’t have competitive at-bats in Sunday’s loss, said the team’s effort was better.
“We didn’t swing the bat really well,” Hyde said. “I thought we competed. I thought Voth threw a nice game. We had some opportunities. I don’t know if we’re trying too hard. Obviously, we have a few guys that are kind of in a funk right now and are pressing a little bit. Not one of our better nights, offensively.”
Wojociechowski’s night: Starter Asher Wojciechowski allowed three runs on six hits in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out seven and didn’t walk a batter.
Matt Adams and Juan Soto homered. Adams’ home run landed on Eutaw Street.
It was Wojciechowski’s third start for the Orioles.
“Just kind of getting in a rhythm of things,” Wojciechowski said. “Still throwing too many pitches. Just the first three innings, I was at almost 70 pitches, that’s just too many. So, I need to be able to execute quicker. Try to get quicker outs, but, yeah, I feel good right now.
“I feel good in my delivery. Like the way the ball is coming out. Been able to spin some good breaking balls. I need to get my changeup gong to where I can throw it consistently and it can be a good pitch. I really haven’t had it. My other pitches have been good, my fastball has been playing up. Just going to continue to go out and compete and give my all.”
Shawn Armstrong, Miguel Castro, Jimmy Yacabonis and Tayler Scott were each scored upon in relief of Wojciechowski.
He said he tagged it: Alberto went back to first base after his home run because he wanted to make sure he tagged it.
“I really didn’t miss because I felt that I touched it, but I just wanted to be sure,” Alberto said. “I didn’t want to lose the home run because of that replay. I wanted to be 100 percent sure that I touched it and kept running. It was good, tie the game early in the game.”
Alberto made a baserunning mistake on his other hit, hesitating before he broke for second and getting thrown out easily.
Running on Sisco: Trea Turner, Brian Dozier and Adam Eaton stole bases with Chance Sisco was behind the plate. Sisco has thrown out just three of 19 (16 percent) of runners trying to steal.
Dozier and Eaton scored.
Baumann throws no-hitter: Bowie’s Michael Baumann threw a no-hitter against Harrisburg. Baumann struck out 10 and walked two in the 6-0 win. His ERA is 0.33 in five starts.
Other minor matters: Norfolk Infielder Jace Peterson, who spent most of last season with the Orioles, was granted his release a day after he opted out of his contract. Peterson was named the International League Batter of the Week on Monday … Ryan Ripken, son of Cal Ripken Jr., was promoted from High-A Frederick to Bowie.
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OK ... so on the bright side of things (not to dicount Mr. Baumann's no-no), I couldn't help but notice that Cashner threw a bit of a stinker to take the loss for Boston last night.
Keep playing Davis. Get that #1 pick next year. smh
Let's put this in perspective--the starters have been decent,bullpen implosive,teams don't run in MLB anymore unless Sisco is catching,Smith Jr and Broxton are dreading the arrival of Hays/Stewart,Mancini's trade value is plummeting,SantanDARE is afraid of the OF wall(seen this before),and Gary Thorne seems to be AWOL a lot this year. Suggestion--blackout O's games and start televising Bowie/Delmarva games on MASN.
If Sisco hits, I think he will eventually be moved to another position. Maybe when Rutschman arrives.
Until we have a better crew of young minor leaguers, ones who can compete at that level in Baltimore (no it’s not a typo), it makes sense to me, (watching us getting pummeled isn’t helping my fandom...I like many others, do still care and remain engaged, but it is increasingly painful...). Perhaps, MASN could simply switch to more competitive farm teams once things are out of hand, like they will occasionally do with NFL on cable...but switch back or fill in at inning breaks with updates and or highlights. It would be great hearing some personal insights from the other announcers. Maybe they are preserving Thorne’s sanity or warding off major depression, it may just be time for his seasonal trip to Cooperstown, particularly with Moose coming in behind his rightly deserved recognition last year!
Go Os...at all levels and from all origins... maintain hope, the pitchers are young but on the way, tough to watch ‘the process’ but I would rather see it now and really appreciate it later!
Time to release Keon and demote Smith. Steward and Hays should be brought up and I like to see Mountcastle at first. This probably won’t happen till September as Elias doesn’t care about winning and Hyde has no say. Baumans no hitter, Lowther, Kremer and a few others I hope will be fighting for jobs next spring. If not no one except corn on the cob eaters will come to the ballpark next year.
I hate to further demoralize everyone on this site, however I think it needs to be pointed out that Elias' "Houston Blueprint" for building a team involves making the 1st overall pick in the MLB draft for 3 straight seasons ... not 2.
Would this portend that we may be going through this again next year ??
People are failing to realize it, too focused on this year, but I have a hard time seeing a scenario where the Orioles are aren't WORSE next year than they are now.
They don’t seem to have a true leader, I love Mancini, I really wonder if he would have gotten that ball if Davis didn’t do it first, inadvertently not the message you want your players to celebrate, no one cares about hit # whatever, unless it was truly significant, this wasn’t...go O’s...
I second that thought.
Everyone playing out of position(except Davis)has the team playing by the "you've got it motto". SANTANDARE,Mancini both displayed the OF wall.
To be fair to Trey, this is only his 3rd year in the bigs. He is looked at as our leader pretty much by default. He is a talented player and great guy, but sadly he isn’t surrounded by a plethora of MLB talent.
Leadership isn’t fair, ask Buck...go O’s...
When will we go back to real baseball get rid of the present commissioner and rid of that dangerous baseball that they are using. I guess when someone is injured badly they will get smart
Mentioning Davis and his production on offense is like beating a dead horse. There's nothing wrong with Mancini. He was simply on a roll. This team has no one with the potential to sustain a 300 average over a full season. Regarding Sisco, we knew in advance about his issues with baserunners. The #1 draft pick is the prize to focus on, in addition to the performance of the draft picks in the minors.
Orioles management is spitting in the faces of its fans. IMHO they are hard at work seeking to assemble the worst team in MLB history by a wider margin than necessary to get another first round pick. Other than Means and Givens, the pitching staff is minor league quality-- waiver wire wonders. Probably most of them could not make the Yankees' AAA team.
To further my disillusionment, they allowed Norfolk Infielder Jace Peterson to opt out of his contract. Not that he is guaranteed to become a major league star, but he was hitting .309 and was named the International League Batter of the Week this past Monday. Wasn't he worth a shot with the light hitting O's in order to retain him??
For those who remain optimistic for minor league promotions to help this sorry ball club anytime soon, please note that Norfolk has the highest/worst ERA in the International League. Plus it has the second worst win/loss record. Sorry, I am too cynical to think that Bowie players (or the two newly acquired 17 year olds) are ready to turn the ship around this year or next.
I accept the adage that a true fan sticks with a team through the good times and bad. However, there are limits to "bad." The dreadful state of, and the stomach-turning short-term outlook for this team, suggest to me that it's time for many fans to take a timeout. Only because I am a masochist, I will endure.
Everybody gets a first round pick. Jace was having a good year in AAA, but with over 1500 MLB plate appearances, he hit .228. Nobody with a brain thinks minor league promotions are going to significantly help the team this year, or even next year to a great extent. When the youngsters are ready, they’ll be moved up. I agree the talent level at Norfolk isn’t much, but we need to stay patient and hold the course.
Worldly, I am a big Jace Peterson fan, personally and professionally. However, where was he going to play? They have a competent third baseman in Rio Ruiz, a Rule 5 shortstop in Richie Martin, Hanser Alberto and Jonathan Villar. Peterson batted .195 last year. You could argue that he was better than Stevie Wilkerson, but Wilkerson has played creditably and may have more upside.
Pitching is a much bigger issue than anything else here.
Maybe play him at first base against righties. Even at .195, he would be outhitting Crush!
Wow, all the doom and gloom on this site. From BRR to worldly view from spit filled glasses is just unbelievable. What does rebuild mean to you guys anyway. Quick fix after last year, .. no. Means starting over. But the good news is just 1 more year of tanking after this year for the number 1 picks and we should be on our way up again. Or would you guys like 14 more years like before Buck got here. You guys want more good news, check out Bowie's starting rotation plus their new closer. Want more, 3 Orioles minor league teams are in first place with 1 more just a game out of first!!! Sooner or my preference later, these players will move all the way up to the MLB roster!!! You guys were pushing for Sisco kid to be brought up, now your complaining on the learning curve he needs to develop at catcher. Just take a deep breath and it will be all over soon, just relax and take the rebuild for what it is, rebuild.
Define "soon." O's have only one farm team (Bowie) above lower class A that's in first place. Although I think we are in for a looooong period of losing, I hope your optimism proves correct.
The the Orioles only have 2 teams above class A ball period. And, Bowie b4 last night was in first place. But as I stated there others, Delmarva, the Aberdeen Ironbirds and GCL Orioles are all fighting for first place in their respective leagues. And Delmarva actually had the best record in the first half also. And they have the best combined record overall among all minor league teams.